I started Big Al at least three times. Ripping out because I was unsure about gauge…ripping out again because of twisted yarn…I was starting to feel like a complete novice. I thought maybe I was losing my knitting mojo.

I hope I am not jinxing it, but I feel like I am on track now. My Miss Bab’s yarn has held up well despite my abuse. I am being extra careful, but not going so crazy that I can’t work on this project while I catch up on my favorite television. I am really liking the way it is turning out so far.

He’s waving his little tentacle to say hello..

And now that I am getting a handle on double knitting, Courtney has talked me into trying a steeking project. I am not sure where it will fall in the queue for this year, but I already have all the yarn I need for it. Court frogged the Mountain View Cardigan that has been sitting half-knit in my stash closet and wound it into the most amazing center pull balls. It’s ready to be Oranje now.

I have been a busy girl! Between looking for “real work” and doing…”freelance” work, I haven’t had too much time to do my own thing.

I finished my sample knit for Miss Babs and it is packaged and ready to be shipped. I was really happy with the finished dimensions. I have been toying with the idea of taking that yarn I bought for weaving and use it to make another one of these Merging Ripples Shawls. Apparently, I can’t have just one.

I also used my needles to pry in a little time to finish a hat. I stayed up late this past weekend to work on my Varia. I knit it completely out of leftover yarn. I used the leftover Cephalopod Bugga! yarn from my Merging Ripples Shawl and some Anzula Cricket from the Hermione Hearts Ron hat.

I know things are happening with my own things too…even if I am not seeing them. I still have patterns out to testers and I am waiting to get this last wave of feedback before tweaking things and then, hopefully, releasing something! I am chomping at the bit to get stuff moving! I need to keep reminding myself to be patient!

Well, I’ve technically been back since Sunday night, but no ones keeping track, right?

To be honest, I seem to have picked up a case of Con Funk…or sharing a bed with Ashley has “given me pink eye all over”. Either way, I am nowhere near functioning at 100%. It’s alright though, my body waited until I had attended Stitches West AND finished the big project I was working on before deciding to try and tell me to slow my roll. It’s cool…if anything, I know that I have been firing on all cylinders lately and this is my body’s way of telling me I should probably chill out a little.

I am not really wanting to take a break. Stitches was a huge ego boost for me. For once (because it doesn’t happen very often), I decided to purposely pimp myself out. I brought my “creations” and walked them around the floor. I also wore some of my knitting to show off.

The funny thing about Stitches West, and fiber arts people in general, is that they really like to touch things. After you get over the initial shock of people touching your stuff, you get to be okay with it. Think it’s mostly because people will compliment you while they are touching you. That somehow makes it alright in my brain.

I got a lot of compliments on my neon pink Nefretem. The folks at one booth got all excited and asked if I had knit it in their yarn (I hadn’t). It definitely got people’s attention (as it should, because it is shocking pink). I know I had mentioned it before, but it bears repeating…I knit it Baah! Pink Tourmaline…which really is the color of awesome.

For as many compliments as I got on my hot pink number, I got twice as many for my orange and gray Merging Ripples shawl. People really liked it…the pattern, the color choice, my actual knitting. It was so liked that Babs of Miss Babs grabbed me at one point to show it to the ladies working her booth…where they asked me for my business card and handed me yarn to knit a sample for their store. Yeah you heard me…THEY HANDED ME YARN TO KNIT FOR THEIR STORE. This is the point where my brain exploded.

I also got a lot of compliments on my top secret creations. I made sure to tell people that patterns would be available soon. I need to get to work on that.